The peaks of the Storelva River

Today, only the old doppen (ponds) testify that the Drammenselva River was one of the country's most important rafting rivers a few decades ago. Soon, they too will be gone.

Some of the last remaining specimens were found on Risøra near Gamle-Hokksund, and in 2010 they were salvaged ashore by Lynn Funnemark Johansen, who was the closest neighbor to the river and the doppene. One has been transported down to the glass hut in Hokksund, where it is exhibited side by side with products from Nøstetangen Glass.

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The function of the dowels was to hold the booms in place, which ensured that the timber masses were kept in the current and prevented logs from drifting towards the riverbank and getting stuck there. There were such booms in several places along the river, including at the hinges, where the timber was collected and sorted.

The hinges probably existed well back in the 16th century. Stenberg hinge was the last major sorting station for the timber that was going to the sawmills and cellulose factories at Eiker and around Drammen city. Just above the hinge, the large Skrålensa went across the entire river and caught all the timber. However, the upper part of the bilge could be regulated, so that the timber was led into the Tensjø storage area inside Hagaøya instead of being sent straight down to the sorting station. Here in Tensjø, quite a few doppers have also survived.

Between Hellefossen and Hokksund Bridge, the sluices were very close together. Here the river turns 90 degrees, and the sluices were necessary to prevent the timber from running ashore in the strong current below Hellefossen. The sluices also prevented the timber from colliding with salmon fishermen and other boat traffic, and they guided the timber through the users at Hokksund Bridge.

Before the logs reached Hokksund, however, they had a long journey behind them. Many of them came from Sigdal, Hallingdal or Valdres. They were tied to rafts and set sail across the Randsfjord, Tyrifjord and Krøderen – later steamboats and motorboats took over.

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In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was the nobility and civil servants who dominated the lumber trade and who owned the largest sawmills. In the 18th century, chaotic conditions arose when the amount of timber more than doubled and the bourgeoisie in Drammen dominated the lumber trade. However, in 1807, Count Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg reacted. He took the initiative to start the Drammensvassdragets Fellesfløtning, an association that all the major lumber merchants in the district were behind. It was this organization that was responsible for the floating on the river until it ended in 1969.

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The work in connection with the timber was a large workplace. It was a given to have work, and many who had been homesteaders eventually became self-employed small farmers. But the rafting on the Storelva ended after more than 400 years. The railway and not least the truck took over. Thus, the booms, tugboats and timber floats with their nersetter boats disappeared . Only the dopes remained as a reminder of history – for now.

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The floats are made of wooden logs, and after a few decades out in the river with ice and floods, they are finally taken by the current and carried with the river. For many hundreds of years, those responsible for the floats made sure to replace the floats at regular intervals, but that stopped more than 40 years ago. So it is probably only a matter of time before the last floats are taken by the current. With the exception of the one that has been rescued into the glassblowing workshop.